Redemption
by Perrault
Summary: Given a chance at redemption in the form of another foundling, will Riddick find salvation? Or will he damn himself for all eternity, taking her with him in his fall.
1. Of Gods and nymphs

Wind whipped storm clouds scurried across the vast expanse of sky as rain dashed in harsh contrast against the voluptuous backdrop, sometimes softening in the distance to irregular sweeps of smoky grey gauze. From her perch on the rubble she could see occasional beams of light that would escape the cloud cover and illuminate a patch of earth, if it could be called that, in celestial splendour. How beautiful these moments were she thought, but it was a display of such beauty that it made her heart ache. These thoughts soon passed as she realised that they had to find shelter and fast. They…this change of thought caused her to turn around to where he was sitting, propped against an church doorway, all that was left of the old church. He looked for all the world like a mythical God, cast in bronze, defiant in his old faith and proud in his physical splendour.

The scent of rain and brewing storms hung heavy in the air, he knew they had to find shelter fast. But for the moment he was content to lean on the rubble and watch her. She was a strange one, a small, fey, slip of a thing who had against all odds survived the crash with him. She crouched, contemplating the landscape with a grave demeanour at odds with her young years. About to move on, his eye was suddenly caught by a rare shaft of sunlight that lighted on the perched figure of the girl. His breath caught for a split second in pure aesthetic pleasure of the halo of the gold filaments that crowned the small silhouette and the beauty of this glowing figure against the turgid sky. The light slid away and he realised that she was too was looking at him, he had not noticed so blinded was he by the light. "Time to move on kid" he said, shaking his head to clear his thoughts, and set off to set up camp.

It was a conundrum that would require more resources than he had currently available, that was for sure. Here he was, stuck on an unknown, apparently uninhabited planet with a 13 year old girl with complete amnesia. He hadn't believed his bad luck when he realised for the second time in his life, a young and innocent charge had ended up in his not so capable hands. He didn't want to dwell on the first time it had happened, and the consequence his acquaintance had had on her life, or lack thereof. This girl was in need of medical attention at some point, so getting out of this godforsaken graveyard of a planet was his most pressing issue. Despite that he couldn't help musing as he sat on watch while she lay curled in a small ball beneath his coat. This girl coming into his life seemed almost like fate, a chance to succeed where he had failed, and while it wasn't one he appreciated, the guilt he carried for the poor messed up kid that Jack had been, and the disturbed young women she became, would not let him walk away from this one.

Small disturbances from the disturbances instantly jolted him from his reverie; she was trembling under his jacket, clearly in the grip of a nightmare. The slender wrist the clutched convulsively at his jacket and the sliver of moon pale cheek visible gave him a rush of such protectiveness that he was disturbed. He couldn't let such feeling take hold, as soon as they were off this shit heap her parents would scoop her up back into a loving family and he would have to leave her. No, he decided, better for the both of them he didn't get too close. With this he leaned out opposite her, closed his eyes, and let the animal takeover.

Given a chance at redemption in the form of another foundling, will Riddick find salvation? or will he damn himself for all eternity.

rated for adult themes and possible future sex scenes.


	2. Protection

Eventually the twin suns rose in exquisite harmony, beautiful, if it weren't for the wrongness in the air.

A sense he had quickly pinpointed as a lack of any noises, this was not great surprise as he had seen no animals yet. This was a dying planet, no ecosystem could survive without animals, and yet this one did still, meaning the ruins and debris were not very old, which in turn meant that danger might still lurk. He was eager to press on quickly, forgetting due to her silence, the girl.

After a time he looked back, to see if she wanted a break, in the distance he could just make out a small figure, distorted by the heat waves from the now baked earth. Cursing himself he strode back to where she was trudging. "Damn kid, why didn't you tell me you were tired?" he said when he reached her, "didn't want to make a fuss" she replied. Her tone made him look closer, there was a fine sheen of sweat on an unhealthily pale face, and under her eyes were dusted with indigo, a testament to the night spent on the unforgiving ground. Looking lower he suddenly noticed her feet, they were blood-shod. A small tired smile was on her face.

"sorry, I should have stopped you a bit earlier" she said softly

"give me you pack, we're finding someplace to rest"

"can't see much except rubble and desert here?" she questioned.

"follow me"

He strode off purposefully leaving her to scramble in his wake.

Rather uncharitable thoughts began to cross her mind but she quelled them, he had told her that he was in charge that he was her guardian. She believed him completely, she knew nothing else than to obey.In any case there was something about him, his sheer strength and competence gave her a feeling of safety.

She wished she could remember his name though.

The animal stirred. The sight of the small bloody feet had his blood boiling in rage, a rage directed against himself, "what the fuck are you doing?" he thought in disgust, "Just gotta try harder, be better, she ain't got nobody but you." His inner voice said. Darker thought concerning his suitability as a guardian for a young girl lurked in the dark recesses of his mind keeping company with his animal.

After about 5 minutes he decided that the lesson has sunk in, he walked back to her, and ignoring a squeak of protest lifted her up so she was resting in the cradle of his arms.

It was a very welcome relief from the searing ground, but an uncomfortable experience none the less. To be in such close physical proximity with someone as intimidating as her guardian was enough to put anyone on edge, and not just his overwhelming physical presence, but a curious, almost feral emotion was emanating from him. Her questioning gaze was met by the reflection of his goggles, so she settled as much as she could and retreated into her mind.

_Flashback (girl) : _

_A cacophony of noise, light and pain was all she remembered of the crash, no distinct memories. _

_When she regained consciousness, she found herself wrapped in a jacket in a make-shift shelter, the crash was a smoking ruin, glowing through the dusk to her right and there was a complete absence of people, a fact that, had she remembered that there were any people in the first place, she would have found chilling. _

_Something made her turn to the other side and there was a man sitting watching her, a complete stranger, yet one that, had she retained any memory of her former life she would have run screaming from. As it was she smiled a little smile and looked with interest down at the blanket, wondering why she hurt so much. _

"_how you feeling" words spoken at a pitch low enough that one could feel vibrations._

"_not very well" she replied._

"_what's your name?" he said _

_Blank, her mind worked on overdrive, searching for a name. Blank eyes turned to him, Blank expression not quite covering the rising hysteria. __Riddick was confused for a minute by her silence, but then the acrid tang of fear tickled his senses, comprehension dawned. Fighting down irritation at this situation he attempted to calm her._

"_no worries, relax, you were hurt but not too badly. We'll try and find help in the morning" he soothed._

_Somewhat unnerved by his monosyllabic answers she nodded assent and nodded off to sleep. _

As Riddick searched for someplace to rest out of the elements, his mind wandered to the crash.

_Flashback (Riddick)_

"_Fucking incompetent retards" he fumed as he pulled himself inch by painful inch from the twisted metal of the luxury liner. _

_He had been travelling incognito, something that he needed after the fawning, backstabbing imbeciles on the death dealing tomb that passed for a ship. Being Lord of the Underverse was a royal pain in the arse, having to rule a civilisation he so fundamentally disagreed with sat uneasy on him. And now these fuckers had ruined his holiday by crashing the bloody ship, he KNEW he should have driven himself. _

_His attention was caught by a low moan from underneath the wreckage. A child he realised, and went to investigate. __Half an hour and several nasty scratches later he found himself setting up a bivouac to protect a semi conscious girl. _

_Later, when the dusk was performing its customary intransitive operation of 'gathering' he heard stirring and looked around at the girl._

"_Small" was his first thought, "very cute, probably had her daddy wrapped around her little finger."_

_Big melting eyes regarded the wreckage solemnly before turning to him. In the soft shadows of nightfall, her face glowed from the surrounding smog, a soft swathe of grey gave her face a sophistication and melancholy far older than her young years should allow. _

_He questioned her. Bemused by her lack of fear he asked her name. _

_Then the fear came, rolling off her in scent waves, the reason for her earlier lack of fear was suddenly very clear, she had lost her memory. He roughly told her to get some rest, quietly worrying about what to do. At midnight he decided. _

_He would pretend to be her guardian as this would ensure her cooperation should she turn out to be a spoilt brat. He would find some sort of aircraft, take them back to civilisation, foist her onto whatever family she had left after the crash and continue on his merry way. _

Easier said than done he thought as he trudged on, this place was devastated, nothing lived here.

Then he caught the sweet, fresh smell of water, striding with new purpose he came across an old building, very grand and ornate, and mostly in ruins, but a small gap in the rubble showed a tunnel at the bottom of which he knew would be water. Telling her to wait outside he ducked in to explore.

The sight that greeted his eyes when he emerged from the passage was so incongruous that he was frozen for a split second.


	3. Den of the sybarite

He stood at the entrance to a vast, underground roman bath.

Whorls of Steam rose delicately from the expanse of green water to curl among the towering columns, hot springs in a dessert were a tad unlikely he decided, it must be technology then. As his eyes began to look through the steam to the room he was further surprised. Sumptuous rococo murals graced the walls, all voluptuous naked flesh and ornate scenery, a sultan's harem, a lady's bower, a goddess being chased by mortals. Interspersed were creamy plaster mouldings of writhing nymphs of both sexes. A hall for pleasure he realised, the den of hedonism for a true sybarite. Lavish velvet cushions covered the long, low, wide marble benches that lined the walls. Swathes of finest, gauziest cotton curtained alcoves, the shadowy figures that had recently graced them left behind a muted imprint of desire on the drifting material. It was a room not lacking in elegance, and he hoped that the underlying purpose of this hall would be lost on her.

He reappeared at the entrance, inscrutable as ever and carried her down into the ground. The revelation of such a lovely pool after the unrelenting heat of outside caused a wide smile, soon mirrored by Riddick when he noticed her delight.

"It's lovely" she cried, "Can we stay here for a while"

"Ok, better make yourself comfortable" was the answer as he quickly hid his grin "_perfect place to stop, this heat has got to be powered by something, maybe there is a communication centre we can use" _was the thought.

"First, let me see your feet" he said

They sat down at the edge of the pool, which glowed slightly, from lights situated under the surface. Luckily her feet were not as bad as he had thought, there were one or two cuts which had made it look much worse.

"Might as well have a bath while we're here" he suggested.

"What a good idea" she enthused, and then sat looking expectantly at him.

"Well…." He said

"Aren't you going to turn around?" she asked, surprised "I can't get undressed if you're looking"

"Can't you go in, in your clothes?" he asked bemused

"No, then it wouldn't be a bath, now turn around" a rather prim side to her personalty seemed to be surfacing, not to say that she had been anything but proper since he had met her.

Remembering something from his earlier inspection he disappeared into the mist and returned a minute later with a fine cotton robe, apparently meant to be worn swimming.

"Here, bath in this" he said growled, holding it out.

He walked off as soon as she had accepted it. Pacing, he realised that he needed a bath as well, and in the interest of saving time, he should probably have one now as well.

"Hey, you decent" he called out, a muffled "yes" came as an answer.

No way in hell was he ever wearing a robe, but as he shed layers, he realised what kind of effect him naked would have on a young girl. So he compromised with and Egyptian style loincloth, and walked towards the steaming pool.

As he walked down the steps into the pool, he would just make out a floating figure, "I'm getting in" he called and received a sleepy affirmation.

She was in heaven, the water was bliss, warm and soothing after the stinging from her cuts had faded. To just lie on her back and float was heaven, with the soft, muted sway of the transparent cloth and her hair making her feel like a water sprite. Riddick looked over from where he was lounging on one of the underwater ledges, arms propped up on the edge of the pool. His foundling was floating in what appeared to be a liquid nimbus of light, in a trancelike state. She looked incredibly, almost sinfully, young and innocent. That damn protectiveness overcame him again, causing the beast to pace, and with it came melancholy. He hoped she would never have to see the big bad world that was out there, he knew that he hoped in vain, she would find out too soon how cruel life was, especially men. He wished he could protect her, but he didn't even know if he could protect her from himself. This was his test he knew, his redemption lay in the form of the vulnerable girl-child floating in the water.


	4. Temptation in all it's forms

She moved, softly to the ledge, delighting in the way the loose cotton clung and swirled around her body. Her attention was caught by her guardian, who was sitting opposite. His goggles off, eyes close and head bowed, she felt free to study him. The glistening of sweat and water on his skin resembled liquid bronze, or maybe a finer metal, gold perhaps. The smooth melding of his muscles and his sheer, overwhelming scale was awe-inspiring. In this sumptuous chamber he looked more than the primeval incarnation of power, virility and masochism she had seen earlier, he looked like a king. His posture, the possessive and encompassing sweep of his arm span, the legs spread, a classic male posture of dominance and strength. He was a man made to be a ruler, smiling a little to herself she decided that her personal name for him would be "Emperor of the Seven Seas".

Sunk deep in his thoughts he did not notice her moving. Lifting his head slowly he saw her perched on the ledge opposite him, smiling softly to herself. The shifting water threw soft reflections on her skin and still caused her robes and hair to fan out around her, enforcing his image of her as an angel, no, something less grand he decided, a nymph, set down on earth, for a purpose that no man should know. Untouchable he realized, she was untouchable "_maybe" _he mused "_maybe some god has set his mark on her, maybe she is meant for him only", _then shaking his head slightly in disgust he tried to clear his mind from thoughts that were inappropriate at all levels.

The lights flickered for a minute, a curtain temporarily masked the light of the wall sconces, and she looked, just for a moment like a vulnerable child-woman from old world film noir, with her dark hair slicked back, shadows nestling under her high, rounded cheekbones and dramatic, defining eyebrows. Her eyes were so shadowy and enormous yet so wide and innocent.

He reined the beast in with a strength and anger he did not often feel, yes, this little foundling bought out the best and worst in him, dealing with her would be like a stepping through a minefield. It wasn't, he reasoned to himself, that he wasn't used to women, at any port he went to, they threw themselves at him, and he never turned them down. He was a man, and he had needs, the fulfilment of which never went beyond the carnal. But she was different, she was young, younger than the youngest woman he had ever been with, and she was calm, quiet and mature. Not only that but she had shown no interest in him, that rarely happened to Riddick, he was, in most peoples estimation, a god sent to earth either from heaven or hell was a matter of personal opinion, women found him irresistible, and yet here was one who seemed to not even notice he was male. Too young, he thought, too young to feel the current of dark desire in the room, too young to understand the heat in his gaze, too young to comprehend the true purpose of this room. Leaning his head back to the cool marble he let his mind drift to safer territories.

He glanced to where he heard a disturbance and the sight that greeted his eyes caused his mind to blank and loins to tighten. She was climbing out of the pool, unaware that the flimsy cotton robe was now see through and clung like a diaphanous film to her body. And what a body, long slits in the fabric revealed colt like legs, and skin so soft and translucent that his control all but slipped in his desire to feel it. She paused for a second in profile, she was waif slim and he could see her soft, high breasts, and an exquisite curve of her back that flared to the perfect curvature of her buttocks, then she turned her back to him and climbed out.

He let his breath out raggedly, willing himself to calm down, willing back his control, trying to placate his beast. He WOULD win this battle, be it against himself.


End file.
